The federal government has urged ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr to work with the backers of a Civic stadium and convention centre precinct to develop a formal proposal for Commonwealth funding.
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In what is being viewed as a positive step forward for the city's stadium debate, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister Patrick Gorman encouraged the ACT government to put forward a submission for to reinvigorate Canberra's sporting and entertainment landscape.
The Canberra Times has seen Gorman's response to the "Realising the National Capital Plan" proposal, which was sent to Anthony Albanese at the end of last year and was backed by Canberra's tourism, sporting, business and hospitality leaders.
The consortium hoped its 36-page document would be the trigger for government-to-government discussions for the first time after more than a decade of ideas and options in Civic, Bruce and at Exhibition Park.
"The Prime Minister has asked me to reply on his behalf," Gorman said.
"Thank you for your ongoing advocacy and hard work to improve outcomes for the Canberra community.
"The Australian government is determined to work closely with all levels of government ... to understand projects and issues that matter to our cities and suburbs.
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"Investing in major developments, like those outlined in your proposal, requires a collaborative approach to decision making involving all levels of government.
"In the first instance, you may wish to engage with the ACT government to bring forward a formal proposal for Commonwealth government consideration."
The city stadium and convention plan is backed by Senator David Pocock, but Barr has shifted his preference to a redevelopment at Bruce.
The government will invest in temporary upgrades at Canberra Stadium this year, including a new video screen at the northern end of the ground.
Change rooms have been improved to ensure they can cater for the Raiders arrival in the NRLW, while Barr is also considering cutting the price of food and beverages to make game-day attendance more affordable.
The government's venue lease arrangement with the Australian Sports Commission - the federal government agency which owns the stadium - expires in the coming years.
Barr has met with commission chief executive Kieren Perkins to discuss the stadium's future as part of a planned AIS precinct redevelopment.
But building a stadium in the city on the site of the Civic pool and having it next to a new convention centre is the preferred options for the tourism, business, hospitality and sporting industries.
In the short term, the Raiders hope the government will bid to be a regular host of the women's State of Origin series, flagging the prospect of a three-city rotation to give the fixture long-term location certainty.
The NRL is yet to finalise a plan for women's fixtures this year, leaving players and administrators in the dark ahead of an expanded NRLW season and a new two-game State of Origin format.
The capital hosted the NSW-Queensland clash last year, with more than 11,000 fans packing into Canberra Stadium to set an attendance for the match.
The Raiders saw a jump in memberships as a women's State of Origin spin-off, and chief executive Don Furner hoped there would be a flow-on effect to Canberra's new NRLW team.
Furner floated the idea of mid-sized venues in Canberra, Townsville and Newcastle sharing the women's Origin hosting rights to grow the game and avoid empty stands at bigger stadiums in Sydney and Brisbane.
"We definitely saw a membership boost [after the Origin game] last year ... we hope to work with the ACT government again down the track if they're interested. We'd certainly partner with them," Furner said.
"We're hoping that support and interest follows on with our new women's team because there is interest in top flight women's sport in this region.
"Canberra could be [a regular Origin destination] because the NRL was very happy with the way Canberra delivered the game.
"It's a good-size stadium, they don't need to rent [Homebush] ... the boutique grounds of Newcastle, Townsville and us suit that game so they might do a rotation and we'd certainly be interested.
"It always helps to have a nice shiny new stadium, the nation's capital should have one."
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